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Portland Public Schools and teachers continue preparing for strike as negotiations continue

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Hundreds of Portland Association of Teachers supporters in October rallied outside a school board meeting. The district and the union have said talks are progressing, but both sides are prepared for a strike if talks break down.
(Nicole Dungca/The Oregonian)

Though Portland Public Schools and the Portland Association of Teachers insist they want to avoid a strike, both sides have been quietly preparing for a walkout.

District officials plan to keep the school doors open and pledge to minimize disruption if a strike occurs, but they’ve given few details about what that would entail.

Officials have been hesitant to release specifics to avoid affecting ongoing negotiations.

“It’s premature right now to focus on what things would look like,” said district spokesman Robb Cowie. “If we reach a point where something like a strike becomes imminent, then we will be communicating next steps when we have better clarity on what’s in front of us.”

If teachers do strike, administrators likely will call upon some of the district’s 800 to 900 substitute teachers to fill in.

The substitute teachers are represented by the Portland Association of Teachers, but their contract includes a "no-strike clause." Subs are not included in a general teachers union strike, though they can choose to avoid crossing the picket line.

Yet even if all substitute teachers are used, that wouldn’t be enough manpower to replace the approximately 2,900 teachers in the teachers union.

That doesn’t mean a strike is out of the question, just that it won’t happen Monday. Now that the requisite cooling-off period has passed, the district can impose its final offer on teachers if negotiations break down. That would hasten the threat of a strike.

And even though students will return to school next week, teachers may legally walk out at any time – whether this month or later in the year.